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In Modi’s BJP, the only lineage that matters is the party line. BJP president Jagat Pratap Nadda, hailing from an ordinary Himachali family, has been given a second chance despite losing the polls in his home state. He declared, “It is as much a privilege and honour as it is humbling to be entrusted with the responsibility of steering a movement which has seen many stalwarts leading it. I am deeply conscious of the expectations I carry.” Modi and Shah have great expectations from him: ensure a third successive BJP triumph in 2024. Soon after the National Executive meeting adopted a resolution moved by Rajnath Singh for Nadda’s extension, Amit Shah told the media: “During his presidential tenure, more than 120 various elections were fought out of which BJP won 77. BJP’s strike rate has been the highest in Bihar or in Maharashtra, where the NDA formed the government again, and in Bengal, the party covered the distance from three assembly seats to 77. In the southern states, including Tamil Nadu and Telangana, a favourable atmosphere has been created. In Goa, we scored a hat trick, and a historical mandate was delivered last year in Gujarat. I am confident that under the leadership of Modi Ji and Nadda Ji, the BJP will win with an even bigger majority in 2024,” Shah added. A tall order from a taller person who created history by refashioning the BJP in 2014.

Nadda is neither Modi nor Shah. Or, for that matter, Atal or Advani. But is he the man for the next big moment? He has just a temporary extension until June 2024, just after the final general election results are announced. Shah got two terms and proved himself with a decisive victory in Uttar Pradesh. Nadda would be judged by his political value in a party sired and reared by magnetic leaders. The Atal-Advani twosome revived an ostracised organisation and formed a government with ideologically opposed people and parties. Nadda must compete with the legacy of giants like Kushabhau Thakre, Murali Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, who too rose from the ranks. Though Modi has broken caste barriers in his party, six of the 11 organisational heads, including Nadda are Brahmins. BJP had only one Dalit boss, Bangaru Laxman, who made a shameful exit after being stung with his hand in the till.

The genial, ever-smiling Nadda is no pushover. He enjoys an unblemished personal track record in three decades of public life. Though he is not an ideologue or orator, his eye for detail is impeccable. He knows his targets. His saffron pedigree is unquestionable: a must-have among BJP’s upper echelons. He is married to the Bengali daughter of a former BJP MP from Jabalpur. His Sangh Yatra was through ABVP and the RSS. He was associated with all wings of the party: an ABVP activist who won student elections in Patna,  National President of the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha, a three-term MLA in Himachal Pradesh,  a minister both state and Union and General Secretary before becoming BJP’s working president in 2019; and then president in 2020. However, though Nadda’s career smells of roses, his throne is made of thorns. Currently, the BJP is at the pinnacle of its power. It has over 400 MPs in both houses of Parliament. Alone or with allies, it rules in 16 states. Its membership exceeds 170 million. It is the world’s richest political organisation. Nadda’s mission is to upscale these and rein in arrogant image spoilers wearing “We are in Power” tag on their sleeves who thrash students, open an emergency exit door of aircraft, check the religion of every stranger entering their localities and threaten theatres playing movies they boycott: BJP’s new category of entitled leaders who demand to be admired, adored and followed.

Strategically, the time-tested anti-Congress rhetoric could be palling a bit, considering the connect and crowds the Bharat Jodo Yatra is ostensibly getting. The BJP has been in power at the Centre for nine years and five years in many states. How will Nadda deal with the double trouble, anti-incumbency factor? Modi has fathomed the problem. At the recent National Executive meeting, he advised the party to approach voters aged 18 to 25 years, remind them about the corruption in previous governments when they were in their teens, and educate them about his regime’s achievements. Nadda’s mission is to recalibrate the heady mix of Hindutva and Moditva. Then there is the additional headache of dealing with allies. Nadda is a president with maximum objectives and minimum flexibility since decision-making is centralised at the top; his role is less of a decision-maker and more of an implementer. But he is as hard-working as India’s Top Two. The ruthless roadie has been touring for over 800 days out of almost 1100 days he has been in office, covering nearly all states. During his first term, Nadda intuited Shah’s mindset and working style. Even now, Shah plays a more extensive role in the organisation than Nadda—he is the tough face, while Nadda is the sympatico softie who lends a kind ear to leaders without access to Modi and Shah.

In 2014, Modi called for a Congress Mukt Bharat. Over the past nine years, the double-engine dream team has won in most states and the country. Yet, their dream of nationally decimating Congress remains a mirage. The idea of Congress is still surviving while it has been politically marginalised. How else to explain their continuous attacks on Gandhi Parivar and their party? Failing to form a government in Maharashtra and ensure a majority in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka, BJP formed the government through political mergers and acquisitions. Over the decade, it couldn’t retake seven states it had been ruling with allies, although it won for the second time in Gujarat, UP, Assam and Uttarakhand. Nadda knows elections are due in nine states before 2024, of which six are BJP-ruled, two by the Congress and one by TRS, aka BRS. Saffron stakes are high since BJP lacks charismatic leaders in many states, including in South India. Nadda would be judged not by the seats won but by his ability to speed up the Congress Mukt Bharat process.

Trivia: Nadda was a swimmer in childhood and even participated in an All India Junior Swimming Championship. But trivial is not his political acumen since he has navigated many treacherous waters with an affable smile and astute eulogies. A third BJP Wave in his second term is the watershed moment he, and his illustrious mentors, are waiting for.